QUESTIONNAIRE DENMARK

EBU Questionnaire Survey on the situation of blind and partially sighted people
across the 27 EU Member States

September 2007

 

Name: John Heilbrunn

Organisation: Danish Association of the Blind

Country: Denmark

e-mail address: jh@dkblind.dk

Telephone number: + 45 38 14 88 17


1/ Benefits


1.1. Does your country have any form of benefits system/ allowance for blind or partially sighted people?
Answer Yes End answer

1.2. If yes, is this allowance sufficient or does it need to be increased ?
Answer Needs to be increased End answer


2/ Transport / Mobility

 
2.1. Does your country provide blind and partially sighted people with any form of assistance for access to public transportation?
Answer Yes End answer

2.2. If yes, in what form?
Answer 48 hours before departure one can require for assistance for access to busses and trains. Tactile guidance lines, a few electronic buss stop announcement systems, also information facilities at train stations on trains departures. End answer
 

2.2.1. Facilities allowing a better accessibility of public transport for blind and partially sighted people:
Answer Yes End answer

2.2.2. Financial aid:
Answer Yes End answer

2.2.3. If yes, is this assistance available :
At reduced cost.
Free of charge Answer Yes End answer  
Other (please explain)
Don’t know.
 


2.3. Are there any measures facilitating the mobility of blind of partially sighted people?
Answer Yes End answer

 2.3.1 If yes, are they:

Financing of guide dogs. Answer Yes End answer
Tactile paving.  Answer Yes End answer
Provision of auditory means of communication. Answer Yes End answer
Provision of auditory signals at crosswalks.  Answer Yes End answer
Other (please explain)
Don’t know.
 


2.4. Concerning accessibility / transport in general, what suggestions for improvement do you have?
Improving auditory information in busses, at bus stops, and at train station platforms. Faster implementation of tactile guidelines at platforms. Improved means of individual transport for leisure, job and educational purposes. Increased level of mandatory accessibility requirements in national building legislation. Improving precision of GPS technology for blind pedestrians.
 


3/ Employment


3.1. Are private companies under any obligation to recruit a certain number of disabled people?
Answer No End answer

3.2. Are some jobs reserved in priority for:

3.2.1. Disabled people?
Answer No End answer

3.2.2. Blind or partially sighted people?
Answer No End answer


3.3. Are there any targeted wage subsidies or bonus for employers who recruit blind and partially sighted people?
Bonus.
Targeted wage subsidies.
Answer Other Other (explanation) There are possibilities to receive such subsidies as employer, but there are visually impaired employees who are employed in ordinary job positions without any such subsidies to their employers. End answer
Don’t know.


3.4. Does your country have sheltered workshops or any other kind of structure employing only blind and partially sighted people?
Answer  Yes End answer

3.5. Are there any other incentives in your country to facilitate blind and partially sighted people’s employment?
Answer  Yes (explanation) Wage subsidies for newly trained / educated; Personal assistance
(secretary) and technical devices / equipment paid by the State.. End answer


3.6. What is the situation with regard to the employment of blind and partially sighted women:
Under-employment
Discrimination in recruitment.
Discrimination in wages.
 Answer  Don’t know There is no statistics that highlight these issues. According to our knowledge, no discrimination takes place between males and females in the labour market, although, in general, women still lag behind with regards to general wage level.
The general degree of employment amongst blind persons is quite low. End answer


3.7. Concerning employment in general, what kind of suggestion for improvement do you have?
Answer Better guidance in the transition from school to working life.
Easy access to working materials and other special devices.
Accessible IT solutions.
Solutions to the transport problem. End answer
 



4/ Education


4.1. Does your country have specialized schools for blind of partially sighted children?
Answer  Yes End answer

4.2. Is it possible for blind of partially sighted children to attend mainstream schools?
Answer Yes End answer

4.2.1. If yes, are there any support services for blind and partially sighted children?

Provision of books in Braille. Answer Yes End answer
Provision of Braille writing devices. Answer Yes End answer
Provision of adapted electronic devices. Answer Yes End answer
Support by specially trained teachers. Answer Yes  End answer
 Answer Other (explanation) Devices operating with speech, large print, books in large print and recorded on Daisy. End answer
Don’t know.



4.3. Can blind or partially sighted students at university benefit from some form of financial aid to purchase an adapted computer?
Answer Yes End answer

4.4. With regard to education in general, what kind of suggestions for improvement do you have?
Answer Better guidance between different levels of education.
A life long learning strategy including people with disabilities.
Accessible digital exams.. End answer
 



5. REHABILITATION CENTRES FOR BLIND AND PARTIALLY SIGHTED PEOPLE


5.1. Does your country have any rehabilitation centre for blind or partially sighted people?
Answer Yes End answer 


5.2. Concerning rehabilitation centres, what suggestions for improvement do you have?
Increase the number of centres. 
Improve existing centres. Answer Yes   End answer
Increase the capacity of the centre. Answer Yes   End answer
Improve the training of staff (auxiliary nursing staff, special education teacher …) Answer Yes   End answer
Modernise the methods of rehabilitation to daily life. Answer ???  End answer
Modernise professional training. Answer ???  End answer
Other (please explain)
Don’t know.


5.3. Have you noted any progress in these areas?
Answer  No: The competence has been spread due to decentralization which
has been detrimental to up keeping of a knowledge bank and centralized
expertise. End answer


5.3.1. If no, did you notice a decline in the quality of the rehabilitation measures for blind and partially sighted people?
Answer Yes   End answer

 

6/ VOCATIONAL TRAINING


6.1. Does your country have a specialized vocational training centre for employed or unemployed blind and partially sighted people?
Answer Yes End answer

6.2. Can blind or partially sighted employed or unemployed people attend mainstream vocational training centres?
Answer Yes End answer

6.3. If yes, are there any support services for the blind and partially sighted?
Provision of books in Braille. Answer Yes End answer
Provision of Braille writing devices. Answer Yes End answer
Provision of adapted electronic devices. Answer Yes End answer
Support by specially trained teachers.
Other (please explain).
Don’t know.

6.4. Have these measures been adopted since your country’s accession to the EU or did they exist before?
Answer Old End answer

6.5. With regard to vocational training in general, what kind of suggestions for improvement do you have?
? We are lacking knowledge


7. ACCESSIBILITY OF ICTs


7.1. Is it possible to obtain support for ICTs for blind people of all age categories:
At school. Answer Yes End answer
At university. Answer Yes End answer
At work. Answer Yes End answer
At home. Answer Yes End answer
What kind of support ? (Please explain)
Answer It is possible to obtain ICT as a loan through the municipality where the applicant lives. Apart from the equipment and assistive software, the applicant is entitled to receive instruction as to how the ICT is used. End answer


7.2. Is it possible to obtain support for ICTs for partially sighted people of all age categories ?
At school. Answer Yes End answer
At university. Answer Yes End answer
At work. Answer Yes End answer
At home. Answer Yes End answer
What kind of support ? (Please explain)
Answer See answer to question 7.1 End answer




8/ E-GOVERNMENT

 

8.1. How do you evaluate the accessibility of public websites (E-government; documents, forum, services, interactive pages, etc.)
Very good.
Good.
Medium.
Answer Bad.  End answer
Very bad.
(Please explain): Answer  The biggest challenges with regard to accessibility are found on interactive/self-service web pages. The question about filling out forms on-line raise severe accessibility problems. End answer


8.2. Is your government doing anything to make E-government websites accessible to blind and partially sighted people?
Answer Yes End answer
(Please explain): Answer The Danish IT and Telecom Agency maintains an on-line, interactive purchasing toolbox where standards and recommendations on accessibility for people with disabilities are integrated.
In addition, starting January 1 2008 all public web sites must comply with the WAI accessibility guidelines unless the economic burden is disproportionately high. In this case, the non-complying entity must explain to the public why this requirement has been neglected. End answer




9/ EU INFLUENCE


9. Do you think that the EU has had a positive influence on the situation of blind and partially sighted people in your country ?
Answer Yes End answer
(Please explain): Answer WE frequently allude to EU legislation, e.g. the purchasing directive, when lobbying our national Government.
In a number of other areas the EU legislation has been of inspiration or has acted directly progressive on the situation for pwds in Denmark. The TV without Frontiers directive has meant that testing and trial activities have been commenced in DK. The regulation on air passengers rights gives a solid backbone and further clarification to the rules and practices that have been followed inDK. The Public procurement directive has meant that during public tenders, biddders with a sensible disability sensitivity experience being favoured.
The EU played an important role in promoting the Crpwd adopted 2006.
In general, with our current government who favours liberalism and privatization, the EU regulation is often more progressive and serves as a guard and stronghold against too vast cutbacks in services. End answer

 


10/ Finally, do you have any expectation with regard to your country’s belonging to the EU?


10. Do you have expectations with regard to:
Employment. Answer Yes End answer
Education.
Vocational training.
Rehabilitation centres.
Transport / mobility.
Accessibility of buildings and traffic lanes. Answer Yes End answer
Access to information (accessibility of ICTs) Answer Yes End answer
Financial support.
Gender equality.
Other (please explain)
 

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